smell or taste problems - NICE guidance - suspected neurological conditions - recognition and referral
Last edited 05/2019 and last reviewed 03/2021
Smell or taste problems
Summary points from NICE guidance relating to smell or taste problems in adults are:
Distorted sense of smell or taste
- be aware that sudden-onset distortion of sense of smell or taste in adults is rarely associated with structural neurological abnormality and usually resolves within a few months.
Smell or taste hallucinations
- refer adults with transient, repetitive smell or taste hallucinations to have a neurological assessment for epilepsy.
Loss of sense of smell or taste (1)
Consider neuroimaging for adults with unexplained loss of sense of smell or taste that lasts more than 3 months.
Do not routinely refer adults with loss of sense of smell or taste and normal neuroimaging.
Do not routinely refer adults who lose their sense of smell or taste immediately after a head injury.
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